Site-specific Agronomic Information, Technology Adoption, Farm Productivity

Smallholder farmers in Africa typically only have access to blanket fertilizer recommendations which may not be optimal for local production conditions. The response to such recommendations has generally been poor. Using a randomized control trial in Ethiopia, we explore whether targeted recommendations lead farmers to align fertilizer usage to recommended levels and whether this impacts productivity. Results show that targeted recommendations closed the gap between the he recommended and actual amounts of fertilizer used and that this in turn increased productivity. We also consider whether coupling these recommendations with agricultural insurance further encourages fertilizer investment but find no differential effect.

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